With the start of school quickly approaching, most educators (the good ones at least) are thinking a lot about how they will do things differently for the upcoming school-year.  Larry Ferlazzo writes an engaging and insightful piece that models the importance of reflection and goal setting.  As I read his blog explaining his new school-year resolutions, it made me think of my own.  Actually, I only have one two-step plan:

1.  Think it through.

2.  Do it!

My goal is to be a FINISHER!  I want to COMPLETE every project I start.  Gone are the days of "analysis paralysis"... even if I "fail", I will finish!

What are your new school-year resolutions?

The Senate passed the Edujobs Bill today.  Here is the good news:

The bill is explicit that the money would have to be used for salaries, benefits, and support services for school staff. Districts also could use it to recall or rehire former staff members, or to bring on new employees for K-12 schools and early childhood programs.

Here is the not so good news:

The Senate bill, approved 61-39 today, is fully offset, meaning that the $10 billion price tag is covered by cuts to other programs. Some of those cuts are to education programs, including $50 million from the Striving Readers program, which helps finance adolescent literacy efforts, and more than $10 million from Ready to Teach, which finances telecommunications programs for teachers. It also includes an $82 million cut to student financial aid administration programs.

Click here for the full article if you want more information.

Below is a list of teaching secrets for teaching students who don't share your culture and some stats to help us acknowledge the current reality as it relates to cultural differences in schools.  These data and suggestoins are taken from an article written by Elina Aquilar in Teacher Magazine.

* Nine out of 10 teachers in the United States are white.

• Four out of every 10 students are not white.

• Some 40 percent of public schools have no teachers of color.

And here are my beliefs about what these statistics mean:

• The fact that 90 percent of teachers are white matters. Let’s accept this notion and acknowledge that race is an uncomfortable issue to deal with.

• In diverse classrooms, issues of race and culture masquerade behind differences in learning and communication styles, attitudes, interests, behavior, and much more.

• It is the teacher’s responsibility to bridge this cultural chasm. We cannot eliminate the differences but we can learn to communicate effectively with each other.

Suggestions: